Facebook Algorithm
Summary In "Decoding the Facebook Feed: An Up-To-Date List of the Algorithm Factors and Changes" by Kevan Lee, the inter-workings of the social media giant's user algorithm are revealed and defined. Using data from 2013 to as recently as July 2015, Lee details why things are on a user's newsfeed and how to manipulate the algorithm for post-reach optimization. Background Facebook was initially developed by Mark Zuckerberg in 2004 during his time at Harvard. It has since developed into the most popular social media site in the world. Facebook users equal the population of China. It is a massive network of people from across the world. The Facebook algorithm, the math behind the posts, has been part of the site for the past several years and is updated regularly with new features. Lee's article gives a timeline of these changes over the past 2 years. Chronological Development of the Algorithm November 2014 * Post bundling, or a method of cleaning up the newsfeed for users, is a pain for marketers. If a page or person posts multiple things in tandem, they will be bundled together in order to declutter the page. * Newsfeed filters are added, allowing for users to control post viewing. They can block users without un-friending them and manage how and where they see posts from groups or pages. * Prevention of overly promotional posts, Facebook decreased the viewership of posts that recycle content from advertisements or have the sole intention of coaxing the user to purchase something directly from the Facebook page. January 2015 * Growth in video, Facebook begins promoting video content and pushing that into users' feeds more regularly. * Removal of hoaxes, Facebook targets purposely untrue or misleading information, allowing for users to be guided to more accurate content. March 2015 * Cleaning up the liking system, Facebook removes likes from deactivated or memorialized pages (pages left activated despite the passing of the owner) April 2015 * Facebook boosts views for posts made by friends, thereby decreasing views for pages and promotional posts. June 2015 * Facebook begins monitoring the time users spend viewing stories and promotes similar content in their newsfeed, assuming that the other content was relevant based on the amount of time the user spent viewing it. July 2015 * Facebook users gain more control over their newsfeed. The algorithm begins monitoring views and preferences more closely to provide the best content and suggestions. Manipulating the Algorithm Understanding the changes made in the algorithm over time is very important. Understanding how this information can be properly used for best post visibility, because of this information, is now almost scientific. Actions that will have a positive result according to Lee's article: * Posts with lots of comments * Posts with lots of likes * Post types that users seem to prefer more than others (e.g., photo, video, or status update) * Posts that reference a trending topic * Posts that receive a high volume of likes, comments, or shares in a short time * Link posts * Videos uploaded to Facebook that receive a large number of views or extended viewing duration * Posts that tag other pages within the text * Posts that are liked or commented on by one’s friends * Posts from pages that one interacts with often * Post types that one interacts with often * Posts from pages with complete profile information * Posts from pages where the fan base overlaps with the fan base of other known high-quality pages * Images and videos that have not previously appeared in the Open Graph * Links that have not been posted beforehttps://blog.bufferapp.com/facebook-news-feed-algorithm Actions that will have a negative impact: * Clickbait * Frequently circulated content and repeated posts * Like-baiting * Posts that include spammy links * Text-only status updates from pages * Posts that are frequently hidden or reported (a sign of low quality) * Posts that contain the words “like, comment, or share” * Posts with unusual engagement patterns (a like-baiting signal) * Posts that receive negative feedback categorizes as “meme content” * Posts that are classified as memes by Facebook’s visual analysis of overlayed text on image * Passive fans of a particular Facebook page may see that page’s posts bundled together in the News Feed, such that the user would need to click a link to see more from the page. * Overly promotional content from pages—pushing people to buy an app or service, pushing people to enter a contest or sweepstakes, posts that reuse the same text from adshttps://blog.bufferapp.com/facebook-news-feed-algorithm Ethical Concerns With the development of this algorithm, Facebook has been under fire for using its users to further test it out and the monitoring capabilities of the site have also been an ethical concern for users. The Atlantic's article "Everything We Know About Facebook's Secret Mood Manipulation Experiment" by Robinson Meyer discusses the experiment Facebook secretly performed on its users and the ethical implications. In early 2012, Facebook included around 700,000 users in a study to find out how users responded to mood-changing content on their newsfeed. For a week, certain users were shown more "happy" posts than normal and others were shown "sadder" posts than normal. By the week's end, these users' posts were considerably more happy or sad, respectively. This study in emotional cognition, though important to the development of Facebook's ever changing algorithm, was performed without the explicit consent of the users involved. At the time the terms and conditions users would agree to but very rarely read did include a clause for “data analysis, testing, and research" to be allowed. Despite this small statement, users and critics still found the study to be unethical.